1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a spring-and-damper assembly which is articulated directly or indirectly at a front hood and at the body of a motor vehicle and has, in a cylinder, a gas pressure damper with a damping piston, a piston rod which is outwardly loaded by the gaseous medium through an axial opening in the cylinder projects from this damping piston and assists opening of the front hood, having an actuator which is activated by a sensor device so as to adjust the front hood into a raised pedestrian protection position.
2. Description of the Related Art
A spring-and-damper assembly of the type mentioned above which is used in DE 103 25 351 B4 has an opening device having a gas pressure damper with a damping piston in a cylinder, a piston rod which is outwardly loaded by the gaseous medium through an axial opening in the cylinder projects from this damping piston and assists opening of the front hood. The spring-and-damper assembly also has an adjusting device forming an actuator activated by a sensor device in the event of impact with a pedestrian to lift the front hood into a raised pedestrian protection position. A suspension and/or damping device that can cushion and/or damp an impact with a pedestrian on the front hood in the pedestrian protection position is located under the front hood raised into the pedestrian protection position. The piston rod or the cylinder or a structural component part of the spring-and-damper assembly connected therewith is axially adjustable relative to a supporting part supporting the assembly so as to be limited between stops such that the opening device is decoupled, and therefore inoperative, along the entire adjustment path of the front hood from the closed position into the raised pedestrian protection position. In this way, the front hood can be raised quickly into the pedestrian protection position upon pedestrian impact, but it must be taken into account that in so doing the front hood executes a swinging process in which the front hood swings into the pedestrian protection position only after at least once overshooting and at least once undershooting the pedestrian protection position. If pedestrian impact with the front hood takes places when the front hood is overshooting or undershooting the pedestrian protection position in this manner, the front hood and the suspension and/or damping device located below the latter may not absorb the pedestrian impact to an optimal degree.